Die for perforated note-sheets.



E. G. CLARK.

DlE FOR PERFORATED NOTE SHEETS.

APPLICATION FILED APR. 6.1914.

1,159,830, 7 Patented- Nov. 9, 1915.

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U N ITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

ERNEST G. CLARK, OF DE KALLB, ILLINGIS, ASSIGNOR TO MELVILLE CLARK PIANO COMPANY, OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS, A GORPGRATION OF ILLINOIS.

DIE FOR PERFORATED NOTE-SHEETS.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented. Nov. 9, 1915.

Application filed April 6, 1914. Serial No. 829,734.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, ERNEST Gr. CLARK, a citizen of the United States, residing at De Kalb, in the county of Dekalb and State of Illinois, have invented new and useful Im provements in Dies for Perforated Note- Sheets, of which the following is a specification, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, forming a part thereof.

Thepurpose of this invention is to provide an improved die for making perforated note sheets used as controllers for automatic musical instruments.

It consists in the elements and features of construction shown and described as indicated in the claims.

In the drawings :Figure 1 is a top plan view of the entire device comprising die members, proper, and the associated punchguideway member and clamps. Fig. 2 is a top plan view of the die member, proper, with the associated parts. Fig. 3 is a section at the line 33 on Fig. 1. Fig. 4: is a detail plan view of a portion of the comb member of the die. Fig. 5 is a section at the line 55 on Fig. 3. V

The purpose for which the die shown in the drawings is intended is to cooperate with suitable punches for cutting rectangular perforations in paper note sheets which have their perforations located in parallel longi-. tudinal lines spaced from center to center of consecutive rowsof perforations about one ninth of an inch, the width of the perforations being about half that distance. This requires that the die for making these perforations should comprise in its length as many die apertures as the total number of rows of perforations on the note sheet to be out, each of said apertures being about one-eighth of an inch in width and the bridges between them substantially the same width. Generally, heretofore, such note sheets have been perforated by means of round punches repeating their stroke at intervals of about one-third their diameter as the paper advances past them, this being the method of producing in the note sheet apertures varying in length fromthat of the diameter of the round punch to.

any number of multiples of one-third of that diameter, according to the number of strokes of the punch used in making the aperture as the sheet advanced. The objection to apertures formed in this way is well understood and need not be explained, nor that these objections are obviated by cutting the apertures with rectangular punches repeating their strokes in a similar way as the paper advances in steps, which in the case of rectangular punches may be of anylength not greater than the dimension of the punch in the direction of travelof the paper; that is, not limited to 1 one-third or one-half that dimension, as is necessary in the use of round punches. But while it is a simple matter to make a die having the necessary number of round holes in a row for cooperating with round punches in a similar row, up to the full number of rows of apertures required in the note, it is a much more difficult mat? ter to practically form a die having square or otherwise rectangular apertures in a row to cooperate with a similar row of square punches. Some of the difficulties in the way of producing such a die will occur to any machinist. f

The features of construction which char, acterize this invention are designed-with a view to meeting the requirements and difiiculties in relation to the construction and. use of dies for cutting rectangular apertures for the purpose stated, which may be particularized as follows First. That by reason of the fact that the use of a die for cutting paper causes the die corners to be rapidly dulled or blunted to a sufficient extent to defeat its efliciency and prevent it from making clean-cut apertures, makes it necessary' to construct the die so that its face can be readily upset or ground, or upset and ground, to rectify the cutting edges from time to time; and that this process of rectification may be performed economically over the whole length of the die. Second. That in the use of such a die for making perforated note sheets, the middle portionof p the die is very much'more used than the end portions, because the greater portion of the notes to be played are thus controlled by the middle portion of the note sheet, and in consequence the die tends to wear more in the middle portion of its length than toward the ends, and must be constructed with a view to leveling, it over its whole length whenever the most worn apertures at the middle part require rectification. Third. That itis impracticable to form a succession of small apertures with small bridges between them by driving or by drilling and afterward finishing with a tool without great liability to distort each aperture after it is formed in the process of forming the next adjacent aperture; and that a method of construction must therefore be adopted which will not involve this liability. Fourth. That the entire series of apertures being necessarily for rigid relation formed in a continuous metal. bar whose length necessary for the purpose is great relative to its other dimensions necessary for the purpose, would naturally result in a bar of such relative dimensions as to be liable to spring inservice, which necessitates provision to defeat such tendency and maintain the bar rigid, notwithstanding it must have complete clearance and be without direct support at the side opposite that at which the attack of the punches is received over the whole length of the entire series of apertures. tiplicity of punches which are to cooperate with such a die, all of which must be in absolutely accurate alinement with the respec tive apertures of the die, guide bearings for such punches must be provided in a member as accurately formed as the die itself, and absolutely rigid therewith, and free from liability to spring out of relation to the die at any point in its length.

l/Vith a View to meeting these conditions, the die which embodies this invention comprises two members, 1 and 2, forming the die proper,both of steel. suitable for the purpose, the member, 1, being in the form of a comb having teeth and intervening recesses whose depth is the full dimension of the die apertures in the direction transverse to the length of the entire row, so that the other member having a plain edge mounted abutting on the comb-toothed edge of the first member will complete the rectangular apertures desired. Both members are cut away at the under side over the length of the whole series of apertures, up to within a relatively short distance of the top surface of the die forming a clearance way, 3, for the cuttings, but leaving an adequate thickness of steel above this clearance way to perform the die service, and which may be reduced. considerably by successive grindings before becoming too thin for such serv-- ice. Both the die members, 1 and 2, are cut away at the top between the ends over the entire distance occupied by the row of apertures, leaving at the ends upstanding shoulders, 4, 4, which seat upwardly against upper punch guide members, 5 and 6. These punch guide members are formed respectively similar to the die members, 1 and 2; that is to say, the member, 5, has a comb formation shown in Fig. 4, while the member, 6, has its face designed to abut against the ends of the comb teeth of the member, 5, so that when thus abutting it completes rec- Fifth. That in view of the mul-.

tangular apertures, y, which are spaced in the row identically with the apertures, w, of the die member, 1. The lower sides of the members, 5 and 6, are plain, and they are adapted to lodge upon the shoulders, 4, 4, of the die members, 1 and 2, forming the upper boundary of a throat, 7, whose lower boundary is formed by the top of the die members, 1 and 2, and whose end boundaries are the sides of the shoulders, 4, 4, this throat being the path for the note sheet between the punches and the die member. The apertures, y, are considerably deeper than the apertures, 00, for the reason that the punches which are arranged to cooperate. with the die and which are lodged in the apertures, 3 are wider at their upper portion where they obtain the guidance than at the-lower end portion operating for punching by their thrust into the die apertures, The die members, 1 and 2, are bound rigidly together at their ends by bolts, 8, having their heads countersunk in one member, and are also located accurately with respect to the members, 5 and .6, respectively, which are lodged upon the shoulders, 4, 4-, of the die members by dowel pins, 9; and the die members are bound firmly to the punch guide members by bolts, 10 taking through said guide members and the die members below them, respectively, into fixed supports, 11 of the machine in which the die is operated.

For clamping all the fourparts, 1, 2,. 5 and 6, together in their proper relation to each other, and at the same time for stiffen ing the entire structure against the spring-- ing to which it would be liable on account of its relative length and slenderness, truss bars, .10, 11, are provided. These truss bars are of channel-form in cross section, with the flanges of the channels narrowing at their ends, thereby giving the truss formation. On their inner faces, which are to abut toward the members, 5 and 6, these truss members are cut back a short distance to space their faces away from the bars, .5

and 6, eXcept at the ends where shoulders,-

12, 13, are left standing to abut directly against the opposite faces of the members, 5 and 6, bolts, 15, being inserted through all four of the parts thus assembled, and abutting to bind them rigidly together. This construction, it will be observed, prevents any liability to distort the punch guide members of the die members by reason of any inaccuracy which might arise in the abutting faces of the clamp members throughout their length; but since it is necessary to reinforce these punch guide members against lateral springing or deflection, set screws, 16, 16, are set through the webs of the channel bar truss clamps, 10, 11, the ends of the bolts impinging upon the outer faces of the members, 5 and 6, set nuts, 18,

18, being provided on each of the set screws, as seen in Fig. 3. By means of these set screws, the members, 5 and 6, are reinforced against any tendency to spring or warp out of rectilinear form; and indeed, if slightly sprung or warped from any extraneous cause, the set screws will tend to restore their rectilinear form.

In order that the comb piece of the punch guide and the comb piece of the die may have their respective teeth and interspaces absolutely alined, said two parts are relatively positioned by means of the dowels, 9, and rigidly bound together after cutting back the face of the die member between its ends, as described, to form the throat for the sheets to be cut and before cutting the comb teeth, and the two members thus rigidly bound together so as to be operated upon as a unit are milled to form the comb teeth. In the milling, the teeth of both parts will be cut down to the depth of the teeth of the die only by the travel of the cutting tool across both members; and after the proper depth of out has been formed in the die, the stroke of the cutting too-l or travel of the planer bed carrying the work will be reduced so as to terminate the travel of the tool over the work at the throat-way, 11, the adjustment being thus maintained until the teeth are formed on the punch guide member to the additional depth de: sired.

It will be understood that the punches for operating with this die are in the form indicated in dotted line in Fig. 3, having the width at the upper part where they are guided in the comb, 5, agreeing with the depth of the comb teeth in that member, and being reduced at their working ends in the die to the depth of the die comb teeth.

I claim 1. In a die for the purpose indicated, in combination with a die having a multiplicity of die apertures in a row, a punch-guide device comprising two members, one of which has comb teeth and the other a flat face abut ting the ends of the comb teeth for bounding the die guide apertures, said punchguide apertures being in line respectively with the die apertures; means for securing the punch-guide device to the die with the apertures respectively alined, and clamping members between which the punch-guide members are embraced and bound extending the entire length of the latter; bolts binding said clamping members together to clamp the punch-guide members between them to each other, said clamping members having their faces toward the punch-guide members out back between their ends and spaced away slightly from the punch-guide members, except at the end portions, and a multiplicity of adjusting screws set with the clamping members engaging upon the outer face of the punch guide members for clamping the latter together at a multiplicity of points in their length.

2. In a die for the'purpose indicated, in combination with two die members, one of -which has comb teeth and the other a flat face abutting the ends of the comb teeth for bounding the die apertures; two similarly formed punch-guide members, and means for positioning and securing said four members with the comb teeth of the punch-guide member alined with those of the die member, the die members being reduced on their upper faces over the entire range of the fingers to form upstanding fiat shoulders at the ends beyond said range, the punch-guide members being seated and bound on said flat shoulders, whereby there is formed between the die members andthe punch-guide members a thin throat-way for the path of the sheets to be perforated.

3. In a die for thepurpose indicated, in combination with two die members, one of which has comb teeth and the other a flat face abutting the ends of the combteeth to bound the die apertures; two punch-guide members, one of which has comb teeth and the other a flat face abutting the ends of the comb teeth to bound the punch-guiding seats; means for positioning and securing together said four members with the comb teeth of the punch-guide member alined with those of the die member, and clamping members between which the punch guide members are embraced and bound extending the entire length of the latter, and bolts binding the clamping members together to clamp the punch-guide members between them to each other, said clamping members having their faces toward the punch-guide members out back between their ends to space them away slightly from the punch-' guide members except at the end portions, and a multiplicity of adjusting screws set through the clamping members impinging upon the outer faces of the punch-guide members for clamping the punch-guide members together'at a multiplicity of points in their length.

In testimony whereof, I have hereunto set my hand at De Kalb, 111., this 1 day of April, 1914.

ERNEST o. CLARK.

Witnesses:

H. B. SANFORD, M. FoHR.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents, Washington, D. G. 

